Conventionally, the windshield of a vehicle is fitted in an opening provided in a vehicle body by placing a molding member along the periphery of the windshield to keep rainwater out provide an air tight seal for the passenger compartment. Normally, a sealant is filled into the gap, and the windshield is secured in place by cooperation of the sealant and the molding member. The exterior of such a molding member is sometimes covered by an ornamental metallic member.
When the vehicle is travelling at high speed in rain, the rain water on the windshield tends to flow sideways, and this water flow is known to obstruct the view through the side windows, and sometimes the view through the rearview mirrors mounted on the doors. Therefore, the molding member is often provided with a vertical wall on either side of the windshield to guide the rainwater to the upper end of the windshield, and to the roof of the vehicle to avoid such a problem.
The molding member is therefore required to have a cross section which is different from one place to another for blocking the water flow across the side edges of the windshield but allowing the water flow across the upper edge of the windshield. This can be accomplished by connecting together three or more segments having different cross sections to make a single molding member, but this complicates the fabrication process and may not provide a molding member with a desirable appearance. It is therefore desired to produce a continuous molding member having a changing cross section. However, fabrication of such continuous molding members typically requires a highly complex extrusion die, or additional steps of cutting a part of a molding member of a uniform cross section to form a desired differing cross section.